1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to medical instruments, and more particularly to apparatus for illuminating body areas undergoing surgery.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is imperative that adequate lighting be provided to affected regions during surgical procedures. However, overhead room lighting is rarely sufficient for operating purposes. Accordingly, various types of supplemental lighting equipment have been developed that suits different medical illumination requirements.
For example, Walter Lorenz Surgical, Inc. of Jacksonville, Fla., manufactures surgical retractors useful in oral surgery that include a fiber optic cable. The fiber optic cable is clipped to an external surface of the retractor. One end of the fiber optic cable is connected to a source of illumination. The output end of the fiber optic cable is positioned to direct a beam of light on the mouth area being treated. Although useful, the externally clipped fiber optic cable is prone to being bumped and misdirected during use.
A headlight lighting system is manufactured by the Luxtec Corporation of Worcester, Mass. In that type of system, the output end of a fiber optic cable is connected to a headband worn by a surgeon. The fiber optic cable supplies light to a headlight on the headband. The headlight may be fixed or moveable to suit different requirements. By moving his head and/or the headlight, the surgeon is able to direct light to the region where he is working.
During back surgery, the muscles and tissue adjacent the spine are cut to provide access to the affected vertebrae. It is a common practice to employ a unilateral retractor to hold the muscles and tissue in a position that creates a working cavity. To minimize post-operative discomfort and complications, the incision in the back muscles and tissue is kept to a minimum, often one inch long or less. A disadvantage of such a small incision is that the area of the working cavity is small relative to the cavity depth. Consequently, it is often difficult to provide sufficient illumination to the vertebrae at the bottom of the cavity. That is true even with direct light from a surgeon's headlight. The problem is aggravated by the presence of the surgeon's fingers, his instruments, and the retractor within the cavity, because those items tend to block the incoming light and cast shadows over the surgical field.
Clipping a fiber optic cable onto the retractor in the manner of orthodontic instruments is not an acceptable solution, because of the potential for the fiber optic cable to be bumped. In addition, the prior fiber optic cable design would decrease the volume within the cavity that is available to the surgeon's fingers and instruments. Another drawback of the prior fiber optic cable and clip combination is that the loss of light from a small spatter of blood or other fluid on the output end of the fiber optic cable would be intolerable.
Thus, a need exists for an improved surgical lighting system.